Stress, Burnout, Anxiety and Depression among Teachers: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, stress and burnout continue to be a problem among teachers, leading to anxiety and depression. Burnout may adversely affect teachers’ health and is a risk factor for poor physical and mental well-being. Determining the prevalence and correlates of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among teachers is essential for addressing this public health concern. Objective: To determine the extent of the current literature on the prevalence and correlates of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among teachers. Method: This scoping review was performed using the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). Relevant search terms were used to determine the prevalence and correlates of teachers’ stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression. Articles were identified using MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Data Base), APA PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Scopus Elsevier and ERIC (Education Resources Information Center). The articles were extracted, reviewed, collated, and thematically analyzed, and the results were summarized and reported. Results: When only clinically meaningful (moderate to severe) psychological conditions among teachers were considered, the prevalence of burnout ranged from 25.12% to 74%, stress ranged from 8.3% to 87.1%, anxiety ranged from 38% to 41.2% and depression ranged from 4% to 77%. The correlates of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression identified in this review include socio-demographic factors such as sex, age, marital status, and school (organizational) and work-related factors including the years of teaching, class size, job satisfaction, and the subject taught. Conclusion: Teaching is challenging and yet one of the most rewarding professions, but several factors correlate with stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among teachers. Highlighting these factors is the first step in recognizing the magnitude of the issues encountered by those in the teaching profession. Implementation of a school-based awareness and intervention program is crucial to resolve the early signs of teacher stress and burnout to avoid future deterioration.

Well-Being and Mental Health in Teachers: The Life Impact of COVID-19

“…A strength of the present study is the use of a comprehensive measure of at least three dimensions of mental health. In addition, according to Agyapong et al [ 16 ], it is one of the main instruments used to measure depression, anxiety and stress. In the study by Nabe-Nielsen et al [ 10 ], they only considered three items to measure metal health, specifically asking about stress, burnout and working conditions.…”

“…A review by Agyapong et al [ 16 ] indeed found that burnout, depression, anxiety and stress in teachers are relevant in relation to their well-being and mental health. Even before the pandemic, evidence has been found that teachers’ stress levels may be higher than those of other professions.…”

Stress, Coping and Considerations of Leaving the Profession—A Cross-Sectional Online Survey of Teachers and School Principals after Two Years of the Pandemic

“…One limitation is that compared to some other studies involving teachers [ 6 ], the response rate of teachers in our study was low. We assume that, as teachers and school principals had many additional responsibilities during the pandemic, they perceived the survey as another task and since participation was voluntary, many probably chose not to participate.…”

“…To date, few studies examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers and school principals [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. It was found that teachers experienced higher levels of stress than other occupational groups, which added to the already high levels of job-related stress, and that their quality of life decreased [ 9 ].…”

Burnout, Anxiety and Coping Attitudes in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…OSD, which is the most common of the pervasive developmental disorders and therefore attracting the attention of researchers, is a longstudied area in the literature. When the studies in this area are examined, it is noteworthy that the concepts of depression, stress, anxiety and coping strategies are frequently studied, especially in parents and teachers with whom the child with OSD is in contact (Al-Oran and Al-Sagarat, 2016;Acar and Karaaslan, 2022;Agyapong et al, 2022; Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Al-Farsi et.al, 2016;Ang and Loh, 2019). When studies involving the concept of OSD and burnout are examined, it is particularly striking that teachers are addressed (Aydemir et.…”